Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1887-12-22

WVW 1tnree seconds after
| ~ tho trap was sprung
Bellows heart ceased
to beat. His neck was broken. The rope
used was that intended for Anarchist
Louis Lingg.
The crime for which Bellows suffered the
death penalty was the murder of his niece,
Alice Waterman. He had been living at Min
neapolis, but came here in 1886 and went TO
! live with the Watermans, a short distance from
town His attentions to Alice and his general
conduct soon became such that he was sent
away July e He went to the house of a neigh
Dor. Chester Wilcox, where Alice was stopping,
| and called her outdoors and shot her twice
while she was on her knees begging for mercy.
| The last shot was fatal. He then shot himself,
| but inflicted merely flesh wounds.
Bellows is the first man legally executed in
Iowa for twenty-five years. From 1886 to 1872,
lows bn doeTea sssen0G1 0 ,bs died on the gal
law it was optional with Judges to sentence to
hanging or TO imprisonment for life in capital
cases, and tho bench usually tempered justice
with mercy. The course Of the Judges led to
discussion about 1870, as TO whether the prac-
tice OF courts, by showing as far as possible
their tenderest side to the deepestdyed crimi-
mails, did not really create a sort Of contempt
for the way judicial punishment was measured
out. 1t was maintained that the public morals
would be better conserved by repeating the
capital punishment clause and making life inn
prisonment the penalty for the highest crime.
Public sentiment was ripe for a change, and
Wnen Une Legislature OF 1872 met one OF It's
principal acts was the passage of bill abol-
ishing capital punishment This law lasted
until 1878, when, after thorough discussion
during which it was contended that the taking
of human life had become much more frequent
than formerly on account Of this abolition of
the death penalty, capital punishment was re-
enacted with one important change. which re.
moved the power to fix the death penalty from
the Judge TO the jury In case arising under
the law now the jurors find the verdict as for
merly, but1f they adjudge the criminal guilty
IN i'm frat dc fnraa md mr. fha
prisoner be hanged or imprisoned for lite, they
must say SO in their written verdict, and the
court court has % no power to modify the finding. The
verdict. verdict -
sentenced to death in Iowa. The first was
Fountain w. George, for the murder OF DIR.
Epps in the streets OF Des Mones. This occur
red in 1882. The Judgment OF the lower court
was affirmed. and under tho law ho should
have been executed not later than fifteen
months after sentence. But the assassin was
n victim OF epilepsy. Doubts arose as TO his
sanity, and commission OF inquiry was ap-
pointed. Ihor finding has never been made
public, but ii must have been favorable to the
insanity view. as Governor Sherman never
| fixed II day of execution, and about year ago
| George died in the pententiary. A man named
| Smith, OF Fayette County, and another named
| Kennedy, OF Dubuque, are awaiting execution,
| their cases having gone to the Supreme Court.
| Chester Bellows was the fourth.
The murderers legally strangled in this state
| richly merited their punishment In 1856 Will
| lam Hinkle, of Davis County was arrested for
| poisoning his wife. The woman had died sud
| denly, and Hinkle before year had elapsed,
| made preparation to marry girl who had been
working in the family at the time OF his wife s
death. An investigation followed which led to
| Hinkles indictment and arrest. He took a
| change of venue to the ad dining county OF
Appanoose, whore, after trial lasting only four
days. he was convicted OF murder in the FIRST
degree on April l6, 1888 An appeal to the su-
IRENE Court followed, but the Judgment below
| was affirmed, and Hinkle was sentenced to be
| publicly executed on the 18th OF August, 1858,
between the hours Of and p M within o. one
in the eastern part of the county. This was the
| nearest convenient point midway between
| Bloomfield and Centerville, the county seats Of
| no doubt, thought the people OF the two coun-
| ties had n common interest In seeing Hinkle
| die. Nor was he disappointed. On the appoint
| ed day l0,00l people assembled to witness the
| execution. The condemned man ascended the
platform with n resolute step and firm bearing.
! The rope provided for the occasion was of home
manufacture, and as the trap fell and it re-
ceived the full weight OF the heavy victim il
sn lpped, and Hnkle dropped heavily to the
| lround lie wns picked up and with difficulty
| licod on the scaffold he was asked before
| the roTe was adI Iusto1 the second time IL he had
anything to say, 70 which he answered that he
| was innocent. 1t was generally believed at the
time that he had placed the poison in the young
| womans hands for the purpose of comprising
his wifes death, and that his denial was there
| fore, technically true
Tho secold execution was the most notable
i'm the States history 1t occurred at Dubuque
in 1859. tnilor named Gillitk returned home
| in the morning very drunk. His wife asked
him for money with which TO buy bread. He
sci ed her by the hair, dragged her about the
floor, kick her, beat her, and mt last shot her
| through the head He had leen n soldier in
| tho Mexican war, a color sergeant As his at
torney, the eloquent Ben M. Samuels, told the
jury, he bore the flag of his adopted country
| from Vera Cruz to Chapultopec. He bad two
| trials, tho e'tlict resulting tho same in both.
Governor Lowe was appealed to for clemency
in vain. There had been too many murders In
In md
lie sentiment demanded an example. Judge
| Wilson had ordered that the execution be made
| public. The gallows was built on q sandy
plateau short distance south OF Eagle
Point, and Just north of the city limits
| The people living in the Nicinity-the nearest
house being at least quarter OF a mile distant
threatened to rae the gallows but Sheriff
Haydenaput guard OF sworn deputies around
it. There were three large, well drilled, hand
somely uniformed military companies in Du.
buque-The Governors 9 Greys the Washington
Guards aud the Jackson Blues. Gillick re-
quested that as he had been a soldier, these
military companies escort him to the gallows
Hayden ordered that they turn out as protec
ton, and TO quell any disturbance that might
nevor saw such a crowd. 1t seemed as II the
people of Iowa, Wisconsin and Illinois for sixty
miles about had hocked into the city, II
was estimated that there were 10000 Il
10000 strangers in Dubuque that morning
1t was beautiful day. The cortege start
ed from the Jail with military company
| ne0do1 Dy tnO doInhnlb Ihudg IN IRON
OF a barouche I'm which Gillick rode will
tho Sheriff, and two companies In the rear
| while line OF guards was on either side o
tho carriage. The band played a doad marcf
from the Jail to the gallows, a distance Of ovei
a mile The military formed n hollow square
about the gallows and within forty feet OF IL
The people stood crowded in closely on al
sides-a vast mass OF humanity. Hundreds o
women were among the spectators. Gillicl
made short speech, In which he warned younl
men against tho use OF liquor, which hat
brouc ht him 10 the gallows thanked the mill
tary for the honor they had paid him as sol
der and sheriff Hayden for kind treatment
| It was all over IN hftoen minutes, and i'm th'
afternoon two-thirds Of the vast number o
strangers had disappeared. There have beer
two more executions at or near Dubuque-on'
I'm 1s62-and another ut Delphi for n murde
committed at Dubuque In 1868.
The last legal execution OF which there IL
record in Iowa occurred at Ottumwa, Feb, II
1865, whom BENJAMIN A. McComb, q native o
Rockford, Ill, was hangel foF The murder 0
Laura Jane Harvey, also " ROckford, JAnF